Today is Thursday, May 17, 2012

Fundraising

Ken Buck disagrees with Dick Wadhams on Republicans’ get-out-the-vote effectiveness

Ken Buck says in an interview with the Denver Post that he lost the U.S. Senate campaign because Republicans we not able to match the Democrats' get-out-the-vote (GOTV) ground game that allowed Sen. Michael Bennet  to beat him by only 20,000 votes out of about 1.5 million cast. Buck's assertion that conservative groups were not as effective as the Democrats' is in direct contrast to Dick Wadhams' claim that the state GOP's mounted a strong GOTV campaign. Wadhams is chair of the Colorado GOP, and he's under attack because the GOP didn't win big in Colorado this year.   America Votes, the Colorado Democracy Alliance (CoDA) and other left wing groups and unions mounted a huge GOTV effort during the final days of the 2010 election campaign and stopped the anti-Obama tide in its tracks in many Colorado legislative races as well as in the gubernatorial and senate contests. The Colorado Democratic Party was mostly a bystander during the campaign. The state parties' roles have been marginalized by onerous campaign finance laws that have put secretive independent groups in charge of raising money, organizing GOTV drives and winning elections.  LINKS: Buck says Colorado GOP outmatched by Dems' tactics, by Michael Booth. Dick Wadhams says Michael Bennet's dishonest ads beat Ken Buck, by Donald E. L. Johnson.

Democrats debate national fundraising strategies; CoDA, Colorado Model a big influence

At this point in the election cycle, it's interesting to read the national stories about the fundraising strategies of the Democrats and Republicans. Today's must read story is about the debate among Democrats over whether to fund independent groups that spend on media or groups that fund networks of organizations based on the "Colorado Model", which was created in 2004 by the Colorado Democracy Alliance (CoDA) and now is led by America Votes. I'm creating a "library" of posts that link to articles on fundraising and campaign strategy for future reference. Since June, I've posted almost 50 blogs in the "fundraising" category. LINKS: Dem donors spit on 2012 strategy, by Kenneth P. Vogel. America Votes, Colorado Model, unions, 'Gang of Four' pour $6 million plus into legislative races, by Donald E. L. Johnson.

America Votes, Colorado Model, unions, ‘Gang of Four’ pour $6 million plus into legislative races

The Colorado Model poured more than $6 million into a dozen Colorado state House and Senate races, protecting the Democrats' power to redistrict the state next year, reports Marianne Goodland at the Statesman. She has done a great reporting job. Even though conservatives knew that America Votes, the Colorado Democracy Alliance (CoDA), Colorado's "Gang of Four" billionaires and the teachers' and public emploiyees' unions were coordinating their efforts to beat Republican candidates, they could not match the Democrats' fundraising and ground games. This is no surprise. It's been going on since 2004 as reported in The Blueprint, a book about their efforts by Rob Witwer and Adam Schrager.

It's time to remove all limits on contributions to political campaigns so that candidates can raise enough money to control their campaigns. Today, under the campaign funding laws that restrict free speech, outside, independent groups spend more on campaigns than individual candidates do. As a result, the outside groups run ads and conduct direct mail campaigns that are full of lies and embarrass the candidates they support and defend.

Why didn’t Colorado Republicans gain more seats in the state’s House and Senate? Dems played defense

Why didn't Colorado Republicans gain more seats in the state Senate and House? While the GOP gained some 680 state legislative seats nationally, the Colorado GOP picked up only one seat in the Senate and six in the House where it just barely gained control. Democrats still are hoping that final vote counts in a couple of very close races will allow them to retake the House. 

Tom Tancredo says he has raised $1.2 million for his gubernatorial campaign

Tom Tancredo this morning told me that he has raised $1.2 million for his campaign. When he entered the race in late July, he said he'd need $250,000 to be competitive. And despite polls that show him trailing John Hickenlooper by 1 to 14 points, one pollster has told me that he thinks Tancredo will win. There is no question that Tancredo has staffed up a bit since September and has spent money on banners, get out the vote efforts, advertising and robo calls.  Today we got two robo calls from his campaign, and I've answered two or three in the last week.   LINKS: Tom Tancredo, John Suthers will win; GOP will retake Colorado House, Senate, by Donald E. L. Johnson, 10.29.2010. Gasp! Pollster says Tancredo wins by 2, by Chuck Plunkett.

Left attacks CD-4 conservative; hopes to help Betsy Markey beat Cory Gardner

When conservatives in Colorado's 4th congressional district learn that the Left has been playing them for fools, there will be a backlash. Bob Moore reports that the Colorado Democratic Party and a secretive left-wing group have been running ads against an American Constitution Party candidate, Doug Aden. Their strategy is to raise Aden's profile among conservatives so that he can take votes away from Republican Cory Gardner. They hope to  divide conservative voters so that their Nancy Pelosi Democrat, Besty Markey, can be re-elected. Some call this dirty politics. I call it dumb politics, because there is plenty of time for the word to get out and defeat the gambit. And I call it desperate politics, because even the National Democratic Congressional Committee has decided to not waste money on Markey. She's a sure loser. LINK: Democratic groups spend more than $300,000 attacking Doug Aden, by Bob Moore. He does some great reporting.

Why government employes’ unions back Michael Bennet, Ed Perlmutter, John Salazar, Betsy Markey

Unions that represent teachers and other employes of municipal, state and federal government agencies back Democrats who let the unions make sure that organized government workers can overpay themselves and give themselves expensive health benefits and pensions that are bankrupting cities, states and the U.S. government.

Are Coloradans tuning out $30 million in attack ads aimed at Ken Buck, Michael Bennet?

Independent groups supporting Republican Ken Buck and Democrat Michael Bennet are spending $15 million or more on each candidate. They're running so many attack ads that some think voters are tuning the ads out. Recent polls show the candidates are in a statistical tie and that, so far, the ads aren't giving either candidate for the U.S. Senate a big advantage. This is no surprise to readers of the book Freakonomics, which says that when candidates are equally well-known as Buck and Bennet are, money doesn't decide an election.

Democrat Congressional Committee abandons Betsy Markey in CD-4

Freshman Nancy Pelosi Democrat Betsy Markey appears to be toast in Colorado's 4th congressional district where she's trailing State Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma). LINK: National Democrats drop advertising plans in 4th congressional district, by Robert Moore.

Does Dan Maes have to quit for Tom Tancredo to win?

The Tom Tancredo team obviously thinks he'll have a better chance of winning if Republican Dan Maes quits the gubernatorial race and lets Tancredo take on John Hickenlooper alone. There's no question that having Maes quit would help Tancredo, but voters and Republicans already are counting Maes out of the race regardless of what he does. And he continues to say he won't quit and to show he cares more about himself than about Colorado. You'll know conservatives really think Tancredo has a chance to win when you see a few independent groups pour some money into TV ads against Hickenlooper. So far, nobody has done that. Or if they have, they're not going all in. Here's a good report on what's going on behind the scenes: Tancredo ups pressure on Maes to quit Colorado governor's race, by Jessica Fender. Tancredo hits Maes on the airways, by Karen Crummy. Script follows:

John Hickenlooper has 5.4 times as much cash as Tom Tancredo

With about two weeks to go to the Nov. 2 election, John Hickenlooper had 5.4 times as much cash on hand as Tom Tancredo while Dan Maes was as broke as he's been all during the campaign, according to their Oct. 18 reports to the Colorado Secretary of State.

Outside groups spending $23.7 million in Colorado on Ken Buck, Michael Bennet, U.S. House races

Outside groups have reported spending $23.7 million on mostly attack ads in Colorado's U.S. Senate and U.S. House races. This is great because Colorado's voters will be the most informed voters in the country because per capita spending by outside groups here is the highest in the country. Negative ads inform voters. Untrue negative ads like those that are being run for appointed Obama Democrat Sen. Michael Bennet tell voters how desperate candidates and their supporters are. LINK: Outside political money floods into Colorado races, by Michael Booth and Allison Sherry. Read the whole story.

Ken Buck had $1.42 million on hand Sept. 30; Michael Bennet had over $1 million

Ken Buck had $1.42 million on hand on Sept. 30, and Michael Bennet had "just over" $1 million. In the second quarter, Buck raised $2.1 million bringing his total for the campaign to only $3.3 million. Bennet raised $2.7 million in the quarter, bringing his total for the campaign to "nearly $10 million," Michel Booth reports at The Spot. Both candidates are raising so much money so fast and outside groups are pouring so much money into the campaigns that it's hard to know what's going on. One thing is clear, both candidates and their independent supporting groups will run enough ads to give voters all of the negatives and positives about the candidates they will need to make their decisions on their mail ballots or in the voting booth on Nov. 2. LINK: Bennet raises $2.7 million in quarter; updates with Buck raising $2.1 million, by Michael Booth.

Democrat groups raising as much or more than Republicans

Democrats and their 527s are raising as much or more than Republicans, Jon Ward reports.

National Republican Congressional Committee targeting John Salazar

Sensing a chance to pick up another once-secure Democrat's seat, the National Republican Congressional Committee reportedly is adding U.S. Rep. John Salazar (CO D-CD 3) to its list of Democrats it will target with ad buys in the final weeks of the campaign. Republican Scott Tipton is running against Salazar. LINK: House Republicans plan $45 million TV ad blitz, by Alex Isenstadt.